Discussing a dystopian future where society has all but collapsed and chaos reigns is probably a bit on the nose for our Melbourne friends right now, but if you have to go to the dark side, then there are few better examples than the epic majesty of George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road.
Time Out's five-star review said, “Marrying the biting frenzy of Terry Gilliam’s film universe with the explosive grandeur of James Cameron, Miller cooks up some exhilaratingly sustained action. But the key to this symphony of twisted metal is how the film never forgets that violence is a sort of madness.”
Gods of the road know it was a tough ride getting it over the line. The 12-year production saga is almost as interesting a story as that of Tom Hardy’s grizzled antihero and Charlize Theron’s feminist warrior, Furiosa. Academy Award-winning writer/director Miller dives headlong in the mayhem behind-the-scenes in this fascinating chat with co-writer and illustrator Brendan McCarthy and comic co-writer Nico Lathouris in this 2015 chat, filmed at the Sydney Opera House.
From death-defying stunts filmed in the Namibian desert (because it rained too much in Broken Hill, going green and ruling the franchise’s beloved location out) to the incredible costume and vehicle design, everything was planned out in an intricately detailed universe created like a comic book adventure. Though the pathway to Fury Road was tortuous, Miller’s vision went on to scoop no fewer than six Oscars in 2016.
Max fans and aspiring filmmakers can listen in to the maelstrom of Miller’s creative process in this latest addition to the From Our House to Yours digital platform. Streaming from Friday, August 7 at 8pm, it will be available to tune into at any time afterwards. And you can read up on five post-apocalyptic movies to watch once you've mainlined Mad Max here. Just spare a thought for those actually living through the Thunderdome right now...
Want more movie magic? Check out Ensemble Apex' startling new music video.
